Tricksy Feathers
by Zribbles
Summary: Set during the Apocalypse. Sam and Dean find themselves in trouble, surrounded by at least a dozen demons and ..creatures. There looks to be no way out of this alive, but just as the knife is coming down on Sam's heart, there's a blinding flash and the beat of wings. When it fades, the monsters are all dead. What just happened, exactly? The prophet knows... Sabriel. Will be wings.
1. I'm Just a Prophet

_AN - Yes, this is short. It's something I wrote while at work, and I didn't have much time for it. It's just a prologue at the moment though, and later chapters will definitely be longer. I don't know how long this story is going to go for, but I'm going to have fun trying to keep them all IC while trying to be imaginative with the story. Not much actually happens in this prologue, but it's setting it up. I hope I got Chuck's voice/character right, review with advice if I didn't? I need to learn their characters since this is the first SPN fanfic I've ever written. (Ignoring the one I'm co-writing with my little sister.) Sabriel later on, will be lots of wings later on but not in a sexual way. (Sorry kiddies, I'm more a fluff person myself.)_

**Prologue**

Seconds before the short silver blade in the demons hand broke skin and plunged into soft flesh, there was a blinding white flash, the loud beat of wings, and when it cleared the demon lay dead.

Let me rewind a little.

My name is Chuck.

I'm a prophet of God.

And everything I 'see' surrounds these two guys, Sam and Dean Winchester. They hunt monsters, that's their life. Everything from shape-shifters to dragons. Demons, angels...

I know, I didn't believe it at first either. I thought it was just a lot of drunken inspiration and they were a couple of interesting figments of my imagination.

They changed my mind pretty fast. Having an angel explode over you will do that, I guess.

So, I suppose I ought to bring you up to speed.

Where to start...

Well, we're in the middle of the Apocalypse, the End of days. Lucifer is waltzing around out there somewhere, killing people and making a general nuisance of himself. Itself. Whatever. So far, he's (For the sake of my sanity, let's not get into the technicalities of angel genders.) got the Horsemen riding forth and he killed his brother, Gabriel. Real brotherly love, right there.

The part I'm writing right now comes a bit later though.

Sam and Dean are in trouble. And as much as I'd like to help them out –

I'm just a prophet, right?


	2. Since When has Dying Stopped Anyone?

**Chapter 1: Since When has Dying Stopped Anyone?**

_AN - Sorry, but my updates probably will take a little while at least. I'm sort of notoriously slow at this kind of thing, and it's something I'd like to work on getting out of. :b Though, the response to the prologue was certainly encouraging! Thanks for all the faves/follows already, guys. 3 Half of this was done at work just like the prologue, but the rest was me sitting down at home to get it done too, since I knew I was taking a while.  
I did get one review for the first chapter, and I think it was asking if there'll be Destiel. To clarify; While this is my first fanfic for SPN, and my first fic involving pairings.. ever, I'd like to focus on just the mentioned Sabriel. But Destiel may well sneak in of its own accord, because I do ship both. We'll seee~ Once again, if they're OOC or I made any mistakes, or you have any crit for me, please do leave a review. c:_

It started the same as any other case. Mysterious killings baffle local authorities, demonic omens. The smell of sulphur and clouds of strange black smoke. The Winchesters figured it would be an easy hunt – after all, demons they were familiar with. Demons they could take.

They had followed the signs to a small town, started snooping around the crime scenes hoping for a hint as to who was possessed.

As it would happen, that turned out to be near enough everyone. A town of the damned, the entire population host to demons.

Sam and Dean hadn't realised until far too late just how many demons they were dealing with; by the time they had, they were already surrounded and trapped by at _least_ a dozen.

They were in an old warehouse, full of shadows where light could not creep through the cracked walls. There was a skylight in the centre of the room, but it was so dirty that very little light could penetrate the grimy glass. Sam and Dean were at separate sides of the room, each covered by six demons. One had Sam's arms held tightly behind his back, pinning them and rendering Sam vulnerable. Dean had not allowed the same to happen to him - he kept his demons at bay with Ruby's knife - but he could not do anything for fear of provoking the demons that had Sam.

So both brothers stood, at the mercy of the demons, unable to see a way out. Dean had called for Castiel at first, swearing at the Angel when no reply came, but now he too was silent. Waiting to see what the demons would do.

They didn't have to wait very long.

For a few short minutes, no one seemed to know what exactly to do. The demons had the Winchesters trapped; now what? It appeared that none of them had expected to get this far, even with their sheer numbers working in their favour... So they hadn't bothered to plan ahead in the event of it actually happening. Sam and Dean exchanged glances, bemused by the demons collective uncertainty. Some arguing broke out among the demons, settled a few minutes later when the demon holding Sam's arms put his foot down and roared for silence.

"I can't believe I've been saddled with such IDIOTS!" The demon continued once silence had finally been achieved by the group of demons. "Isn't it simple?! We kill the  
older one and keep our Father's vessel alive." The demons looked at one another a moment longer uncertainly, before the idea took hold properly and they focused their attention on Dean, who now looked understandably a little nervous. It wasn't as if being Michael's vessel _guaranteed _him a return to life, after all. The angels said they wanted him alive to say yes, but did they even know what was happening? If they did, they'd have intervened by now, surely.

But no, there was quite clearly no divine intervention coming. They were left to these demons this time. Dean glared as one of the demons drew out a short shining blade. An angel blade, obviously stolen. The demon with the sword approached carefully, wary of Dean as he was not yet restrained. Two other demons began to close in on him at the same time, intending to at least get Ruby's knife out of his hands and out of reach. He lashed out when one came into his range, watching with satisfaction as the blade bit into the body and the demon lit up in its dying moments, screaming. It was all the distraction the other needed, and before Dean had managed to withdraw the knife from the now-empty corpse it had him in a tight grip, one hand gripping his wrist to keep the killer blade away from itself.

The other, with the angel blade, moved in fast and raised its weapon high, poised to strike Dean in the chest. It took a moment to savour what was clearly victory at long last over at the least one Winchester, before it struck, putting all its force into the swing. Everyone in the room seemed to hold their breath, their eyes following the arc of the blade on its descent toward Dean's vulnerable heart. Seconds before the short silver blade in the demons hand broke skin and plunged into soft flesh, there was a blinding white flash, the loud beat of wings, and when it cleared the demons lay dead.

Sam, his arms now free from his captors hold, slowly looked around the room and took in the sight of a dozen demons all dead and burned out in what was seemingly a single instant. Dean recovered fairly fast from his near-death, kicking the angel blade out of the demons unresisting hand with clear disgust before sheathing Ruby's knife and moving back to his brothers side.

"What the hell Sammy? What just happened?" He demanded, also gazing about himself with narrowed eyes.

"I... don't know, Dean." Sam responded slowly, carefully sweeping the room with his eyes for any clues. "There was just that bright flash... sort of like..." He trailed off, just as Dean caught onto what he'd been about to say.

"Like angels. But Cas wasn't answering." He finished, sounding fairly pissed off with the angel. "And if it wasn't Cas, who the hell was it?"

_I'm just going to say here, I'm not entirely sure how to space this out properly? Anyone have any tips on that, cus I'm used to having everything in paragraphs close together but it does look crowded and I'm not sure how I should be fixing that._


	3. Our Plate is Full

Chapter 2: Our Plate is Full

Back in the car they had made their home, the Winchesters mused quietly on what had happened hours earlier. Or rather, Sam mused quietly – Dean was glaring ahead, gripping the wheel tight with both hands, muttering under his breath about bloody angels and their fancy dramatics. It took twenty minutes of this before Sam finally snapped, turning to give his brother a hard stare. "Dean, if it bothers you that much, call him and get it over with already!"

"Why? _Clearly _he's too busy to be down here with us!" Dean snapped back, shooting Sam a glower.

"Maybe he is busy Dean, he's an angel, chances are he has some pretty important stuff to deal with. But I'm not sitting here listening to you whining about your angel having his own things to do, just call him!"

Dean turned away, no longer muttering – but not talking to Sam any more, either. The rest of their drive to a motel in the next town was almost totally silent, the air in the car tense. When Dean finally pulled the car into a parking space outside a run down motel on the edge of town, Sam breathed a sigh of relief and unfolded himself from the car slowly, stretching out at last. He shut the impala door behind him and turned to rest his arms on the car, looking over at Dean. "I'll go get our room booked, okay?"

"Cas, get your feathery ass down here!" Dean finally caved, shouting at the air while Sam tried not to look too smug at the other end of the room. Since they had settled down in their room, he had been making small jabs at Dean about Castiel. It became a lot easier once Dean started talking to him again, and he had quickly succeeded in making his opinion rather clear.

For a few minutes it seemed that the angel was ignoring Dean, before the rustle of feathers announced his arrival. Dean turned quickly, taking a step back from the angel – who, once again, had landed far too close for comfort. "Cas, what the hell was that today?" Dean immediately demanded, meeting a too-blue stare without even realising he was doing it.

Castiel simply looked bemused, staring back at his human charge. "I have been busy, Dean. I believe I am close to finding Pestilence."

"That's what you've been doing? Really? It won't do a lot of good if we're dead, Cas!"

"Dean, give him a break. He's trying to help us." Sam cut in quietly, the angel in question looking a little forlorn in the face of Dean's renewed anger. "It's not his fault those demons were there, we did walk right into it."

For a moment it seemed Dean was going to argue some more, then he seemed to deflate and nodded mutely, tearing his gaze away from Castiel's eyes. "Yea, yea I get that Sammy... This whole apocalypse business must be getting to me or something."

"Take a break, go find yourself a decent burger joint." Sam advised, leaning back in his chair at the tiny table in one corner of the room. He then switched his gaze to Castiel, giving the angel an assessing look. "So.. Cas, Pestilence?"

"I am still working on it." Castiel replied immediately, standing straight and losing the forlorn edge to his eyes. "I cannot say for sure just yet but I believe I may have found him. I will let you know when I am certain."

"Right.." Sam cleared his throat, looking away again and down at his hands on the table, frowning. "Well, maybe you can help with something else while you're here? When we were attacked by those demons, we're pretty sure they were all killed by an angel. But it wasn't you, and we don't know any other angels who'd want to help us."

Castiel cocked his head slightly in contemplation, his gaze locking once again with Dean's. He spoke slowly and uncertainly when he answered, staring at Dean though he was replying to Sam. "I do not know which of my brothers helped you, but I will look into it for you."

"Right, well, when you do, tell your dick brother a little warning would go a long way." Dean cut in before Sam could answer, earning himself an annoyed look from his brother.

"Or, you know, _thank you?_" Sam frowned, before his expression cleared again. "Whoever it was, I wouldn't mind talking to them."

Castiel nodded once, breaking his staring contest with Dean and shifting his shoulders in a manner that suggested wings unfurling outwards. Before either brother could say anything more to him, he was gone, with little warning.

"Well, now what?" Dean sat down on the edge of his bed, looking over towards Sam with eyebrows raised slightly. "We got any hunts nearby? Anything we could look into"?

Sam raised his eyebrows in response, staring back at his brother. "We seriously only just made it out alive of a demon infested warehouse, got our asses saved by God-knows-who, and you _already _want to go on another hunt?"

"Yes!" Dean answered immediately, stretching slowly where he was seated. "C'mon Sammy, what else are we gonna do here if not hunt? Lay it on me, what have we got nearby?"

Sam shook his head with exasperation, flipping open his laptop and settling in to search for anything that even vaguely resembled a potential hunt in their immediate area. "You're impossible Dean, you know that?"  
"Yea, and you love it."


	4. Archangels and Puppies

"What if... No, never mind." Sam started, then sighed and gave up. "I don't know man, it had to be an angel but I can't think of any who'd want to help us."

"Yea, Cas is the only one who isn't a dick and we know it wasn't him." Dean grunted, frowning while his fingers tapped away absently at the table he was sitting at.

"Pretty much all the angels who've helped us and might be inclined to do so again are dead. Balthazar, Gabriel.. Hell, even Cas has died more than once already helping us." Sam sighed again, getting up from his bed and stretching slowly, his shoulders popping loudly. "I think I'm gonna go for a walk. Maybe I'll remember someone we missed while I'm out." He shrugged, grabbing a few easy-to-conceal weapons and tucking them about his person.

Dean just nodded, frowning and evidently still trying to think up any other angels. "Hey, get us lunch on the way back."

"Pie? Again?"

"Pie. Again." Dean confirmed, smirking over at Sam. "Can never have too much pie, Sammy."

"That's debatable, but fine."

* * *

"Hey, Cas?" Dean tried a little uncertainly, glancing about.. Even though he'd been expecting it, it still made him tense automatically when Castiel appeared with the sound of beating wings.

"Hello Dean." Castiel responded, somewhat stiffly.

"Hey man. About yesterday, we're ok, right? I was just wound up after the demons, is all."

Cas relaxed slightly, nodding once. "We are ok, Dean. I understand. Did you need me for something?"

Dean nodded, visibly relieved that any in depth feeling talks weren't needed. "We're still trying to figure out who or what saved us. We're pretty sure it was an angel, but we can't think of any who'd want to help us."

"Undoubtedly you and Sam are not popular in Heaven at this time." Castiel confirmed with a slight tilt of his head. "You wish for me to look into it further?"

"I mean, if it's no trouble for you." Dean nodded again, eyes fixed to the angels face.

"Of course not, Dean." Cas stared back intensely, remaining in place. "Was that all you required?"

"Uh, yea. You can stay a while if you want though. It's not that urgent." Dean offered, gesturing to a chair at the table.

* * *

Sam wandered along deep in thought, not paying full attention to where he was going. He passed several blocks before he came up besides a diner, and – with a soft sigh of exasperation over his brothers eating habits – entered to check their menu for any pies.

It was only after he'd placed his order and was waiting patiently for it to be served up that his attention was caught.

"Psst, Sasquatch!"

He frowned and looked around immediately, seeing no one looking his way. The voice and nickname were definitely familiar, but... No, best not to dwell on it. He received his order and was just leaving when his attention was caught a second time, a small sign in the window catching his eye.

'SAM, meet me out back. Weapons not necessary, thx.'

Frowning deep, Sam glanced about once more before he finally left. And, after a quick internal debate with his curiosity and his common sense, promptly turned and made his way down the alleyway besides the diner, cautious.

He had left the light behind and was carefully moving forwards in the shadowy alley, Ruby's knife in hand, when the other spoke.

"I said no weapons, Sasquatch! Can't you read?"

Sam straightened immediately and stared, disbelief etched across his face. "...Gabriel?"

"In the flesh~" Gabriel clicked and the alley was suddenly flooded with light, revealing the rather tired looking archangel. "What, you thought Cassie was the only one who could pull that particular trick?"

"No but.. He's the only one who has so far. Apart from you now, I guess." Sam stood still, lowering his knife before a thought occurred to him and he raised it again. "..You are _you_, right?" His words now laced with suspicion. He held the knife out slowly, his other hand creeping round for his gun. Gabriel merely rolled his eyes and gave an exaggerated sigh, taking the offered weapon and making a neat slice down his arm. "Not a demon, not a shifter, not anything but plain old archangel. Ok?"

Sam relaxed again, hand leaving his gun and reaching out to take back his knife. "...Dean is gonna be pissed."

"Because his angel isn't special anymore?" Gabriel grinned, slinking closer to Sam and running a critical eye over the hunter.

"Mm something like that.. Wait, so that _was _you back at that warehouse? With the demons?" Sam found himself grasping Gabriel's shoulder with one hand, staring down at the smaller man. "You're the one that saved us?"

"Sure sure, you muttonheads were in one hell of a fix." Gabriel smirked back, making no move to shrug off Sam's grip. "Figured you needed a little o' archangel magic."

"Huh. Thanks. Dean probably won't say it but he's grateful too."

A gleeful look crossed Gabriel's face at the mention of Dean again, and he rubbed his hands together. "Oh, I'm going to have so much fun with Deano."

* * *

"What the hell!?"

Sam heard Deans raised voice before he even reached the door, and he hastened over to it past several scandalised occupants of the motel.

"Sammy! Did you know about this?!" Dean demanded the instant Sam entered the room, gesturing to a clearly amused Gabriel. Castiel stood to one side silently, a curious onlooker.

"No Dean, I only found out like ten minutes ago." Sam protested his innocence in a dry tone, crossing the room to put the food down on the rickety table. He unpacked the pie, knowing it was a good way to placate his brother before he really got started.

"Heeyy Deano, some gratitude would be fantastic." Gabriel chirped up, the words slightly distorted by his new lollipop.

"Gratitude? All you ever did was kill me and torment Sammy!" Dean fired up instantly, irate at finding a supposed-to-be-dead-archangel in their room.

"Dean, Gabriel." Sam sighed, hands raised slightly as he turned back around to face them both. "Can we please just.. not fight? Dean, it was him that saved us with those demons. Gabriel.. Just, don't. To anything you might be thinking about doing. I'm tired. And Dean, as much as he was an asshole before, I think he could really help us with the whole Apocalypse thing. So can we please just, give it a rest. At least for one night?"

Both Dean and Gabriel looked chastened at that, and the human nodded. "Sure, Sammy. But - and I don't care how much he might be able to help – he's _not _staying here all night."

Gabriel batted his lashes at Dean, pulling the lolly from his mouth with a deliberate obscene popping sound.

"S'matter Deano, worried I might crawl into bed with you? Or maybe with Sambo?"

Dean opened his mouth to answer furiously, but this time was beaten to it by his brother.

"Gabriel, enough!" Sam frowned at him, unamused and annoyed.

"You two are no fun, you know that? Send candy if you need me." Gabriel winked at Sam, and vanished with a loud snap of his fingers.

"What the hell, Sam? Next time just bring back a stray puppy, please!"


End file.
